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-- Posted Friday, 12 March 2010 | Digg This Article | | Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks Friday, March 12, 2010 “Phenomenally accurate forecasts” The brazenly bogus unemployment data disseminated to the news media each month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics appears to have tripped up Colorado. Although the state had reported a loss of 89.375 non-farm jobs in 2009, the actual number appears to have been much larger -- 106,300, according to the latest revision. Colorado attributes the discrepancy to the Bureau’s rosy estimates of the number of businesses that start and fail each year. Until the new numbers came out earlier this week, Colorado’s official line was that it had somehow been spared the worst of Great Recession’s effects on the labor market. Unofficially, however, the picture was never so bright. “I was surprised when they reported the numbers the first time,” Zoltan Mak, a freight-train conductor on furlough since October, told the Denver Post. “I see everybody around me scraping by and having a really hard time. I don’t think we’re any better off than any other state.” As much could be said of the supposed economic recovery in the U.S. that we keep reading about but which few workers or businesspeople are able to corroborate. In the Rick’s Picks chat room, for one, out of the many hundreds who log on each day, there has been only a single person who has reported an upswing in business. He lives in the Michigan rust belt, of all places, and that is why his claims have met with skepticism, to put it mildly. But here in Colorado, the notion idea that recession has been somewhat less severe than elsewhere is flatly contradicted by a blighted retail landscape that seems to be metastasizing with each passing week. Entire strip malls and even some larger malls in the Denver area have imploded, and in our own neighborhood, a Sam’s Club called it quits. At a personal level, nearly everyone we know with a job or a business is working harder than ever just to stay afloat, and virtually everyone who was in real estate has left the field. ‘It’s Not Me’ Colorado’s miscount could have created a sticky situation, since the state’s jobless would have been eligible for seven week’s worth of extended benefits if unemployment had reached 8.5 percent. The question of whether such benefits could have been paid retroactively remains open, but it is moot for the moment, since, even with the upward revisions in joblessness, unemployment only edged above 8 percent briefly. This is small comfort to those without jobs, but it does put things in a new light for those who might have thought themselves especially unfortunate. “It’s a little more comforting knowing it’s not me personally,” Cynthia Dams, an unemployed child-protection worker, told the Post. “But it’s concerning. I’ve gone to these job fairs and seen the crowds waiting to get in the door.” *** Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. There is a substantial risk of loss in futures and option trading, and even experts can, and sometimes do, lose their proverbial shirts. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2009, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Friday, 12 March 2010 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
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